It's a question Joan Rivers tells us she finds "boring," and it feels almost Seinfeldian in nature, but: What's the deal with the lack of female hosts on late night television?
It's been a few weeks since The New York Times' first reported Jimmy Fallon would replace Jay Leno on The Tonight Show, a story NBC confirmed Wednesday. And in that time, nary a woman has been mentioned in any serious context as Fallon's possible Late Night replacement. Certainly, there are plenty of talented ladies funny enough to replace him — after all, in his former post, the Saturday Night Live actor was often outshined by his female co-stars. (Hello Amy, Tina, Maya, and Rachel!) Still, with Seth Meyers as the only frontrunner, not one female's name has been brought up as a legitimate successor. Because late night is a total sausagefest.
And it has been since its inception. With very few exception, only men have been allowed to stay up late. Johnny Carson ruled the Tonight Show circuit for a whopping 30 years, with personalities like Jack Paar, Steve Allen, Tom Snyder, Joey Bishop, Dick Cavett, Merv Griffin, Arsenio Hall, Chevy Chase, Craig Kilborn, and even non-comedians Pat Sajak and Carson Daly all trying out the genre. And that's not even considering the men currently on air. With so many late night opportunities given out over the last half a century, the gender gap is a serious mind-boggler.
RELATED: Fallon to Replace Leno as 'Tonight Show' Moves Back to NYC
So what's to blame? The fact that late night doesn't allow women to be themselves. Whereas male comedians are allowed to embrace their own style of humor for late night, female comedians are forced to change — to fit into a mold made up of the contradicting ideas about what we want from our late night hosts versus what we want from our women. History proves the genre has favored commercial male comedians to anything else — funny, class-clown types whose senses of humor are inoffensive enough to make them the everymen. Which is why folks like Fallon, Kimmel, and Leno flourish post-primetime. But when you look at some of the industry's most popular female comedians — Rivers, Kathy Griffin, Chelsea Handler, Roseanne Barr, Margaret Cho, Phyllis Diller, Sarah Silverman — one consistent unifier is evident: These are some bold and brassy broads. Just like Wanda Sykes, Mo'Nique, and Whitney Cummings — all women who failed on late night after failing to stay true to their comedy.
But bold and brassy is exactly what we need. We need to see different viewpoints, strong identities, and, yes, we need to be a little bit offended from time to time. In order to stand out in comedy — an industry that has long favored men — female comedians need to be tough and aggressive, traits that often end up bleeding into their comedy styles. (With, obviously, a few low-key exceptions, like Maria Bamford.) But to be a brash and opinionated woman on television is putting yourself in very sticky territory: loud, confident, opinionated women not only struggle to fit in with the mild late night comedy scene, but they also counter a female stereotype that still exists even years after women's suffrage. "Let me tell you, all women comedians, we are strong and we are lion tamers — and don’t you ever forget it," Rivers says. "We can have three little bows in our hair and [be] wearing six-inch heels, [but] we’re still lion tamers. And we go in there and we take over, otherwise we wouldn’t be able to do stand-up."
The trouble is, as Fallon and Leno's success has proven, network audiences don't want to even see lions. They want cubs. And who better to sit in the late night position than the people we're already comfortable seeing in power: middle-aged white dudes. As Robert J. Thompson, founding director of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture and Trustee Professor of Television and Popular Culture at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at at Syracuse University, says, "When you go down the line — especially the major players — there’s a couple of categories that link them. And those categories are 'White' [and] 'Men.'"
And, hoo boy, is he right. There's Leno, Fallon, and Daly on NBC, Jimmy Kimmel on ABC, with David Letterman and Craig Ferguson rounding out the pack at CBS. The biggest male outlier before the 2010 late night clusterf**k was Conan O'Brien, and that's really just because he's a ginger. Channel surf your way through the networks after 11 PM, and the only women you'll see will be sitting in late night's audiences. Cable, on the other hand, has been far more risky and female-friendly, but suffers from an already overcrowded late night field, with Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, Bill Maher, Russell Brand, W. Kamau Bell, and O'Brien yucking it up after dark. That's a lot of competition. "A lot of women have been given a chance," Rivers tells Hollywood.com. "The ones that are good are going to stick."
But, so far, few have. Whereas Handler and Griffin have found success on E! and Bravo with Chelsea Lately and Kathy*, respectively, Wanda Sykes, Mo'Nique, Whoopi Goldberg, Rivers, and Whitney Cummings are among those who have been given a late night opportunity... only to watch it slip right through their fingers. And while MTV is attempting to strike comedy gold with its female-fronted-but-faltering Nikki And Sara Show, but as Thompson puts it, "It's different when you get put into a cable show versus when you’re put into The Tonight Show."
*One day after publication, Bravo canceled Kathy.
RELATED: Jay Leno and TV's 10 Other Biggest Failures
And while the differences between cable and network are many, the genre still largely necessitates its women to change. Many reviews and reactions to Cummings and Mo'Nique's shows focus on the hosts' penchant for yelling — a kneejerk, low-brow humor trope that should admittedly be banished from any sort of regular use in comedy, period. (And that includes everyone, and Especially you, Dane Cook.) One fan review of The Mo'Nique Show laments about the change from a woman who "called you a b**ch and made you laugh at the same time" to someone whose "gushing over the guest and screaming 'yeeeeeees!' like a fake a$$ Oprah." Mo'Nique's noticeable change in appearance (a slimmer frame and shaved legs — something the comedian was quite vocal about not changing in the past), only proved to further disappoint fans who felt the strong-willed funnywoman wouldn't jump through such standard hoops in order to earn success. Sacrifice is always par for the course — but shouldn't come with a cost that compromises their very essence.
Cummings' stand-up routine is often described as transgressive — making jokes about sex, relationships, and the female body are run-of-the-mill topics for her. When placed on stage during Love You, Mean It, we saw a different Cummings. One that the production team felt a need to temper with the presence of her male sidekick, comedian Julian McCullough. While the thought is not an unwelcome one (a show co-hosted by a male/female duo has the potential for greatness), McCullough's presence came across as a way to reel Cummings back into what the show was really about: popular culture and entertainment. So why hire a female comedian whose jokes are primarily about love and relationships, to host a show about pop culture and entertainment? Just because she's a pretty face and a funny woman? Being female isn't a magical band-aid big enough to fix that sort of oversight.
That's not to say late night is an easy role for men either: Just recall the criticism Fallon faced during his first season on Late Night, which was far less refined than O'Brien's well-oiled machine. (Insert "oiled" and "masturbating bear" joke here.) Between the host's perma-laughter and doesn't-translate-to-TV jokes, viewers were calling for his head just episodes in. But the network maintained its faith in the comedian (thanks, no doubt, to comedy TV godfather, Lorne Michaels) and, after a season-and-a-half of Internet-friendly content, Fallon was at the top of his game, winning the Tonight Show gig a mere four years into his late night career.
But Fallon was lucky enough to be given enough time to work out Late Night's kinks. Not only was O'Brien canned less than a year after moving to Tonight — and less than one year after man fans criticized Coco's newly toned-down humor — but the women of late night haven't received much time come into their own, either. In a review of Cummings' show on E!'s Love You, Mean It, writer David Wiegand wielded a critique of Cummings' show that stated "...no one seems to laugh more loudly at Whitney’s humor than Whitney herself," something that rings eerily similar to criticism lobbed at Fallon in his early days. But Cummings' show was — you guessed it! — canceled after its first season.
In fact, of all the female-fronted late night shows, only two have lasted more than a season. Hardly seems fair, does it? Such disparities can be chalked up to the difference between what major networks can afford versus cable or the talent selection. Network executives may be simply picking the wrong women for what they want. Just look at critical response to anything Cummings seems to do. Or even Sykes' stint staying up late — though many were polarized by her bold comedic style, more people disliked the dialed-down, TV-friendly spin she put on her own late night series. To find the lowest-common denominators and risqué acts to prop up (and tone down) as tributes to the late night Hunger Games is practically asking for them to be weeded out early on. "In schools, boys tend to be rewarded for being the class clown more than girls," states Thompson. "Those kind of gender roles — even as we go generations into the women’s movement — a lot of that stuff is still, surprisingly, in tact ... If NBC had replaced Leno not with Fallon, but if they had chosen a really good female comedian, that woman would've had a real struggle, because I do think the genre, the formula of late night television, is so macho."
It's no surprise women often have to struggle to even get recognized in the first place. "I think, in general, truly — women are never looked at, primarily, as somebody funny," Rivers says. "Nobody’s ever quoted me a joke that Kate Moss did. So women already have that hurdle to go over, because they don’t ever think any woman is ... funny. And I don’t know if men want a woman that is, really. To this day. I do, all my friends are hilariously funny women. But we’re women with women. I think men just want you to be gorgeous. And available. I still believe that basically that’s really all they want from you."
RELATED: If Jimmy Fallon Replaces Leno, Who'll Replace Fallon?
Listen, the concept of women as funny beings is debated ad nauseum. It's a stupid conversation that isn't worth having, full stop. But, as Thompson puts it, "To say 'Oh, this many women have tried and failed at late night comedy' — I don’t think we can draw the conclusion that that means women just can’t do this, or even that they were the wrong women; there are so many other variables there. When they were on, how much it was marketed, whether it was a cable channel or syndication — all those kind of things play into it."
That's not to say there haven't been some successes — even in the perceived failures. Rivers was a longtime guest host on Johnny Carson's iteration of The Tonight Show, and her ratings were often higher than Carson's. It's no wonder she was rumored to be in the running to replace him once he decided to retire. But in 1986, FOX came a-knocking and offered Rivers her own show. Naturally, she said yes. "I was the first, first permanent guest hostess on the Carson show, which is unprecedented," she says. "It was never done before in history — between me and 6,000 men. And they picked me."
When Rivers did go off the air less than one year later, it was for personal reasons, not ratings. But the conflict had little to do with her as a person — according to the comedian, the men at the top (including Rupert Murdoch and Barry Diller) did not get along. "I was told by them, 'The tail does not wag the dog,'" she says. "I was told that on a Thursday and we were off air on a Friday."
But, strangely, whereas Cummings and Mo'Nique have struck out with toned-down humor, bigger personalities have performed well in cable's late night arena. Taking a look at the women who have succeeded — namely Handler and Griffin — one thing connects them: They are who they are. No one is toning down Handler's schtick, and Griffin is still doing the same snarky, celeb-obsessed routine on her show that she does on stage. They perform well because they refuse to be anything but what they are — and it works. Right talent, right network. It was no doubt a challenge for them to reach the levels of success they have, but the pay-off has been obvious. To steal a phrase from The West Wing's Leo McGarry: it's time to let Bartlet be Bartlet. Let the ladies be the comedians that made them popular to begin with. "Their humor has balls," Thompson says. "[Griffin and Handler are] females, but they're almost working in that aggressive — what we think of as male — humor, even though that’s a very sexist thing to say." Sexism in Hollywood? No! You don't say.
But with a brawnier choice at the helm, could we find a late-night Katniss of our own? Perhaps, but it won't necessarily be easy for her, either. "People don’t want to see women in that position, even though we all know Cleopatra ruled the roost, and we all know that Marie Antoinette made the decisions," Rivers says. "[But] things have changed tremendously for women. When a woman is good, that's it: the door is open to her much more." Which brings us back to late night poster children Handler and Griffin, again. When it's right, and the metaphorical stars align (right network, right time, right show) it's just so right.
But there is still much work to be done when it comes to changing society's opinions even further. All women must push past expectations consistently and without fear. Step forth, funny ladies, and claim your throne.
For Rivers, her choice is simple: "Tina Fey — give her the job and let’s all go home." Sorry, Tina, looks like you're still the catch-all answer for the way society wants women to do comedy. But we're hopeful that it won't be for long.
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Over the next few months, we’ll see new series soar, old series sour, and so much Jersey Shore madness, we’ll want to shower. Let’s face it: The Fall TV season is intimidating. With dozens of new and returning shows hitting our small screens, we know we have some big choices to make. So, to help you determine what to watch, we’re digging deep into the most notable series premiering this season. Where did each show leave off? Where is it headed? And who should you watch it with? Next up is ABC's big new fish out of water comedy The Neighbors. Except there are no fish, or water. But there are aliens!
New Series: The Neighbors
Premiere Date: Wednesday, Sept. 26, at 9:30 PM
Tag Line: After 10 years of living in isolation in a suburban condo development next to a golf course, a group of aliens is finally invaded by one human family. They both think the other is strange, and they learn very valuable lessons about accepting people and becoming better people (or aliens). Awwwww.
Meet the Weavers: Lenny Venito is Marty, a fat bumbler in the Ralph Kramden sitcom mold. Jami Gertz is Debbie, the take charge mom. Clara Mamet is Amber, the angry teenager and Max Charles and Isabella Cramp are Max and Abby, the interchangeable cute little kids.
The Aliens: They are all named after sports stars, including the leader Larry Bird (Simon Templeman), his wife Jackie Joyner-Kersey (Toks Olagundoye), and their sons Reggie Jackson (Tim Jo) and Dick Butkus (Ian Patrick). Dick Butt Kiss. Giggle. Snort. When they cry, green goo comes out their ears, and they have a communication device called a Pupar, but it is out of batteries so they can't call their home planet, Zabvron. When they change into their alien form, they sort of look like green fish that swallowed a basketball. They don't eat, they nourish themselves by reading. And they all dress alike, have English accents, and are emotionally distant. Basically, it's like liking in the U.K., but without "footie" stars.
People to Watch This With: Alf, Mork, Marvin, and French Stewart. What ever happened to that guy?
Puns Not Used in the Pilot: "Out of this world." "Take me to your leader." Anything about probes. X-Files jokes. Global domination. Ray guns.
Awesome Movies Jami Gertz Was In: Sixteen Candles, Solarbabies, Less Than Zero, The Lost Boys, Twister.
If You Like This, You'll Love: The Burbs, My Stepmother Is an Alien, Mars Needs Moms, Out of This World.
Required Showdown: There must be a race between the aliens' two favorite modes of transportation: a flying saucer and a golf cart.
Punny Athlete Names They Need to Use: Jumbo Cummings, Gregor Fucka, Saatanan Saatana, Kim Yoo Suk, Eddie Stanky, Dick Felt, Dick Shiner, Dick Mast, Dick Pole, Dick Trickle, Johnny Dickshot, Pete LaCock, Misty Hyman, Destinee Hooker, DeWanna Bonner, Ron Tugnutt, Rusty Kuntz, Capt. Jack Glasscock. (I found all of these names here.)
Follow Brian Moylan on Twitter @BrianJMoylan
[Photo Credit: ABC]
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Jami Gertz Kinda Rules

At first, I only watched Whitney out of morbid curiosity. I knew Whitney Cumming’s particular brand of comedy was not my cup of tea – I’d put myself through 20 minutes of her comedy special, classily titled Money Shot, and was worse for the wear. Yet, the comedianne’s new series landed itself a spot in my favorite block of weekly television: NBC Thursday night comedies. I rolled my eyes consistently for the first three episodes and kept coming back for some reason I couldn’t quite put my finger on. I chalked it up to that whole morbid curiosity thing. But after a while, I reached a point where that excuse didn’t work and I had to find the real reason. And it’s this: Whitney’s boyfriend Alex (Chris D’Elia) is pretty great.
Let me be clear: I’m not really a fan of Whitney. I’m still not a Cummings fan. I still think her jokes are to sexual organs what Sarah Silverman’s are to poop: an attempt by a girl to be cute and still be like, totally gross, right? I still think the other members of the ensemble cast are far too overdrawn to be enjoyable – though I admire Maulik Pancholy for finally getting out from under Jack Donaghy’s thumb. The sitcom scenarios are hardly ever inventive; they just add a sprinkling of modern woman and anti-traditionalism and call it a day. And the obnoxious lengths to which they go in the dialogue to make sure we know that they’re totally in Chicago and not at all in a studio in L.A. need to go. Okay, cool, you’re going to Lou Malnati’s for some authentic Chicago deep dish (though you’re likely closer to an In-and-Out Burger), now knock it off. The only thing that indicates this is a Chicago show is that the writers constantly remind us, and frankly, it was old the first time they did it.
But then, after all that, there’s D’Elia. He’s the rock in a flock of characters that are little better than those spastic dancing balloon people they put in front of carwashes. Even when he’s forced to deliver subpar lines, he gives it a little something. The man is infinitely charming and he’s got great delivery, not to mention serious commitment. He knows what good comedy is – he’s actually a standup comedian outside of Whitney – so he has to know that the writing on the NBC series isn’t it, yet he still commits so fully to his character. Scenes like last night’s, when Alex (D’Elia) gets so drunk he feels up a pillow thinking it’s Whitney’s chest aren’t exactly the most high-brow or well-written scenes, but D’Elia makes them funny, and that’s something I certainly wasn’t expecting from this average multi-camera sitcom.
Still, he’s not quite enough to save the series entirely. He is, however enough to keep me from watching the last half hour of Grey’s Anatomy just to escape the half-hour of awkward jokes from Cummings and the rest of the cast. So there’s that.
Whitney airs Thursday nights at 8:30 p.m. on NBC.

At some point in the early years of the 21st century a bunch of Hollywood executives must have gotten together and decided that animated films should be made for all audiences. The goal was perhaps to make movies that are simultaneously accessible to the older and younger sets with colorful imagery that one expects from children’s films and two levels of humor: one that’s quite literal and harmless and another that’s somewhat subversive. The criteria has resulted in cross-generational hits like Wall-E and Madagascar and though it’s nice to be able to take my nephew to the movies and be as entertained by cartoon characters as he is I can’t help but wonder what happened to unabashedly innocent animated classics like A Goofy Movie and The Land Before Time?
Disney’s Winnie The Pooh is the answer to the Shrek’s and Hoodwinked!’s of the world: a short sweet simple and lighthearted tale of friendship that doesn’t need pop-culture references or snarky dialogue to put a smile on your face. Directors Stephen J. Anderson and Don Hall found some fresh ways to deliver adorable animation while keeping the carefree spirit of A.A. Milne’s source material in tact. Their story isn’t the most original; the first part of the film finds Pooh Piglet Tigger and Owl searching for Eeyore’s tail (a common plot point in the books and past Pooh films) and hits all the predictable notes but the second half mixes things up a bit as the crew searches for a missing Christopher Robin whom they believe has been kidnapped by a forest creature known as the “Backson” (it’s really just the result of the illiterate Owl or is it?).
The beauty of hand-drawn animation all but forgotten until recently is what makes Winnie the Pooh so incredibly magnetic. There’s an inexplicable crispness to the colors and characters that CG just can’t duplicate. It’s a more personal practice for the filmmakers and should provide a refreshing experience for audiences who have become jaded with the pristine presentation of computerized imagery. The film is bookended by brief live-action shots from inside Robin’s room an interesting dynamic that plays up the simplicity of youth ties it to these beloved characters and brings you right back to memories of your own childhood.
With a just-over-an-hour run time Winnie the Pooh is short enough to hold the attention of children but won’t bore the parents who will love the film mainly for nostalgic musings. Still it’s the young’uns who will most enjoy this breezy bright and enchanting film that proves old-school characters can appeal to new moviegoers.

Every year around this time, the networks go crazy announcing new shows and new faces as the hope of their impending fall seasons, but no major network has more hope or more riding on these announcements that the fourth place NBC. Just yesterday, they released video previews of their slew of new comedies and dramas that aim to take them in a new direction and we've got them all line up here with a little bit of context and few opinions.
We're looking for potential here, and while a few have some real promise, there are just as many that aren't so lucky.
Fall previews:
Free Agents
Starring: Hank Azaria and Kathryn Hahn
Basics: Two recently single Hollywood agents commit the ultimate co-worker sin (yep, we're talking about sex) and have to deal with it in this workplace comedy. Of course, one sexual encounter undoubtedly leads to another and with that comes a big ol' mess.
Potential: Good
Why: Despite the annoying presence of Natasha Leggero, this show rides on Hank Azaria, which is a pretty good person to weigh your hopes and dreams upon. The biggest hurdle I see at the outset is the chemistry between Helen (Hahn) and Alex (Azaria). Even accidental friend with benefits have some sort of sexual tension and since this is what the show is about, let's hope that chemistry is just undergoing a few growing pains. Also on the positive side is that the writer for the show, John Enbom, also wrote for Party Down, which didn't last but was an excellent short-lived workplace comedy.
Whitney
Starring: Whitney Cummings, Chris D'Elia, Zoe-Lister Jones
Basics: Comedienne Whitney Cummings brings her perspective on love to the small screen in a sitcom that finds her character Whitney and her boyfriend Alex doing anything it takes to keep from becoming a typical boring couple, including refusing to get married and keeping it fresh with botched attempts to spice things up.
Potential: Ugly
Why: Take a look at this clip and you'll see that while some folks may love Cummings as a standup comedian, she doesn't really hold her own when it comes to scripted television. That's a problem when the show is all about her. D'Elia and Jones try to offset Cummings' awkward delivery, but if the writing doesn't tighten up, it won't be enough.
Grimm
Starring: David Giuntoli, Russell Hornsby
Basics: Detective Nick Burkhardt finds that he can see things others can't, like a man turning into a violent troll or a pretty woman becoming a hag in an instant. It turns out he's one of a group of hunters called Grimms who must keep the real world safe from these fairy tale villains.
Potential: Not Bad
Why: If you watch these previews, you might note a sense of familiarity. That's because this series comes from the guys behind Buffy and Angel. While it won't be winning any Emmys, it looks to have the potential to capture those Buffy fans who've been dealing with the hole the long-running series left when it ended. Whether or not it succeeds in this endeavor lies on the show's brand new star, but let's hope there's more to him than what we see in these clips.
The Playboy Club
Starring: Eddie Cibrian, Amber Heard, David Krumholtz
Basics: Hoping to nab a piece of the 60s fad started by Mad Men, NBC introduces this salacious soap set in the original Playboy Club in Chicago, complete with sex, mob action, secret pasts and those classic bunny suits.
Potential: Good
Why: Cibrian's Nick Dalton is no Don Draper and the intrigues are certainly low brow compared to the ups and downs on the leading 60s drama, Mad Men, but this show has enough sex appeal and intrigue (like when Heard's character kills a guy with her stiletto; yikes) to potentially ensnare a few viewers. Plus, Cibrian's own tabloid exploits coupled with the show's famed nudity clause are enough to draw at least a little curiosity.
Prime Suspect
Starring: Maria Bello
Basics: Maria Bello takes on a role originally held by Helen Mirren in the British version. She's a "tough-as-nails" detective determined to best the rest of the members of the department's boys club.
Potential: Not great
Why: Bello's not lacking the leading lady ability, but the show does rely heavily on a few tired stereotypes -- the hard-working woman who doesn't take shit from anyone, isn't appreciated by the men around her, but has that special, all-knowing womanly touch. The show as a whole looks like it wasn't just thrown together, but I just wish it didn't feel like Law and Order meshed with The Closer. Then again, with Kira Sedgwick finishing her last season, folks may be looking for another lady to fill that void.
Up All Night
Starring: Christina Applegate, Will Arnett, Maya Rudolph
Basics: Reagan and Chris (Applegate and Arnett) find themselves with an unexpected bundle of joy and a whole bunch of responsibilities they aren't ready for. Flipping the stereotypes, Reagan goes back to the office while Chris plays stay-at-home dad.
Potential: Good
Why: Not only does the show have a killer trio at its center, but we get Will Arnett as a stay-at-home dad. How can that not be great? Plus, it looks like it might have a little more bite than Arnett's last sitcom attempt, Running Wilde, which was just a little too sweet.
Midseason previews:
Awake
Starring: Jason Isaacs, Wilmer Valderrama
Basics: After a terrible car accident, Detective Michael Britten wakes up in two separate realities: one in which his son survived the accident and he lost his wife, and the other the reverse. When he goes to sleep in one reality the other starts and vice versa, but eventually the cases he works on start to overlap in each reality and it begins to weigh on him.
Potential: Good
Why: It's not exactly the Inception-style drama they've been promising, but it's certainly something the promises to be intriguing, enthralling and even eye-opening. Yes, Valderrama is a part of it, which may seem like a drawback, but Isaacs looks to carry this very original story well. It's only too bad we'll have to wait until midseason to see it.
Are You There Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea
Starring: Laura Prepon, Chelsea Handler
Basics: Based on Chelsea Handler's life and best-selling novel, the show follows Laura Prepon's Chelsea Handler reincarnate, Chelsea Newman, as she attempts to get her life back together after getting a DUI. Chelsea works at the local bar with a few other fiery folks and spews the same jokes you'll find on Chelsea Lately.
Potential: Not Great
Why: Well, I say "not great" because from the looks of these previews, the show ain't great. It's just the same typical Handler jokes we've heard time and again, just delivered with a little less oomph from Prepon, who I want desperately to like. Sure, it's a nice shock to see Handler playing the super straight-laced sister to herself (yeah, that's who she plays), but that could get old really quick. Then again, the woman's fans are pretty rabid, so we may see this sitcom stick around.
Smash
Starring: Katherine McPhee, Debra Messing, Anjelica Houston, Jack Davenport
Basics: The show follows a young woman as she chases her dream of becoming a Broadway star and a songwriting duo as they put on a new production about Marilyn Monroe. Singing, dancing and a whole lotta real life problems ensue.
Potential: Good
Why: It looks to be exactly what we've been promised: grown up Glee. Take out most of the camp, add a little more reality and two thumbs up from Steven Spielberg (who produces the show) and we just may have a hit...that is if Glee doesn't ruin the idea of musical theater for audiences with this awful second season.
BFFs
Starring: Laura Parham, Jessica St. Clair
Basics:Two best friends ended up different sides of the country, but when one ends up getting divorced, she moves back to New York and in with her old friend. Their friendship gets back on track as the newly single Jessica tries to regain her singlehood. It's just not great news for Lennon's live-in boyfriend who starts to feel the pressure of this house guest's constant presence.
Potential: Not bad
Why: Unlike the other lady-friendly comedies NBC has on deck -- Are You There Vodka? and Whitney -- this show actually feels genuine and modern in a way that other two are attempting and failing. The only worry I have here is that it won't catch on with viewers, but I think it certainly has potential to be a cute show.

The first and most important thing you should know about Paramount Pictures’ Thor is that it’s not a laughably corny comic book adaptation. Though you might find it hokey to hear a bunch of muscled heroes talk like British royalty while walking around the American Southwest in LARP garb director Kenneth Branagh has condensed vast Marvel mythology to make an accessible straightforward fantasy epic. Like most films of its ilk I’ve got some issues with its internal logic aesthetic and dialogue but the flaws didn’t keep me from having fun with this extra dimensional adventure.
Taking notes from fellow Avenger Iron Man the story begins with an enthralling event that takes place in a remote desert but quickly jumps back in time to tell the prologue which introduces the audience to the shining kingdom of Asgard and its various champions. Thor (Chris Hemsworth) son of Odin is heir to the throne but is an arrogant overeager and ill-tempered rogue whose aggressive antics threaten a shaky truce between his people and the frost giants of Jotunheim one of the universe’s many realms. Odin (played with aristocratic boldness by Anthony Hopkins) enraged by his son’s blatant disregard of his orders to forgo an assault on their enemies after they attempt to reclaim a powerful artifact banishes the boy to a life among the mortals of Earth leaving Asgard defenseless against the treachery of Loki his mischievous “other son” who’s always felt inferior to Thor. Powerless and confused the disgraced Prince finds unlikely allies in a trio of scientists (Natalie Portman Stellan Skarsgard and Kat Dennings) who help him reclaim his former glory and defend our world from total destruction.
Individually the make-up visual effects CGI production design and art direction are all wondrous to behold but when fused together to create larger-than-life set pieces and action sequences the collaborative result is often unharmonious. I’m not knocking the 3D presentation; unlike 2010’s genre counterpart Clash of the Titans the filmmakers had plenty of time to perfect the third dimension and there are only a few moments that make the decision to convert look like it was a bad one. It’s the unavoidable overload of visual trickery that’s to blame for the frost giants’ icy weaponized constructs and other hybrids of the production looking noticeably artificial. Though there’s some imagery to nitpick the same can’t be said of Thor’s thunderous sound design which is amped with enough wattage to power The Avengers’ headquarters for a century.
Chock full of nods to the comics the screenplay is both a strength and weakness for the film. The story is well sequenced giving the audience enough time between action scenes to grasp the characters motivations and the plot but there are tangential narrative threads that disrupt the focus of the film. Chief amongst them is the frost giants’ fore mentioned relic which is given lots of attention in the first act but has little effect on the outcome. In addition I felt that S.H.I.E.L.D. was nearly irrelevant this time around; other than introducing Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye the secret security faction just gets in the way of the movie’s momentum.
While most of the comedy crashes and burns there are a few laughs to be found in the film. Most come from star Hemsworth’s charismatic portrayal of the God of Thunder. He plays up the stranger-in-a-strange-land aspect of the story with his cavalier but charming attitude and by breaking all rules of diner etiquette in a particularly funny scene with the scientists whose respective roles as love interest (Portman) friendly father figure (Skarsgaard) and POV character (Dennings) are ripped right out of a screenwriters handbook.
Though he handles the humorous moments without a problem Hemsworth struggles with some of the more dramatic scenes in the movie; the result of over-acting and too much time spent on the Australian soap opera Home and Away. Luckily he’s surrounded by a stellar supporting cast that fills the void. Most impressive is Tom Hiddleston who gives a truly humanistic performance as the jealous Loki. His arc steeped in Shakespearean tragedy (like Thor’s) drums up genuine sympathy that one rarely has for a comic book movie villain.
My grievances with the technical aspects of the production aside Branagh has succeeded in further exploring the Marvel Universe with a film that works both as a standalone superhero flick and as the next chapter in the story of The Avengers. Thor is very much a comic book film and doesn’t hide from the reputation that its predecessors have given the sub-genre or the tropes that define it. Balanced pretty evenly between “serious” and “silly ” its scope is large enough to please fans well versed in the source material but its tone is light enough to make it a mainstream hit.

Tis the season for new TV shows, so without further ado, here are a few more to add to the ever-growing list. NBC is hoping to continue the sitcom success of their Thursday night line-up (minus Outsourced; replace it already!) by green-lighting four, count 'em, F-O-U-R new sitcoms including one based off Chelsea Handler's book, Are You There Vodka? It's Me Chelsea.
The Handler comedy probably won't star the comedianne, but it will attempt to take her style of humor and translate it to network television. So does that mean all the dirty, awful things she says aren't going to fly? Pass. That's the only reason she's interesting. In other Chelsea Handler-related and inspired-by-real-life-ladies sitcom news, NBC also gave the go-ahead to a sitcom based around Whitney Cummings who often appears on Handler's late night show and manages to drive me crazy every time. Like Are You There Vodka?, the sitcom is supposed to be unconventional, but we'll be careful not to count those chickens until they hatch.
Jack Black and Ben Silverman are putting their weight behind a book-to-small screen adaptation of My Life as an Experiment. Guess what? This one is supposed to be an "unconventional" look at life too! My hopes are bit higher for this one because Black is pulling the strings and while his antics may have grown a little stale on the screen, if they should retire anywhere it's on TV.
Lastly, we have the most promising of the bunch. Brave New World comes to us from Peter Tolan (The Larry Sanders Show) and is another workplace comedy, this time set in the old timey world of a theme park called Pilgrim Village. NBC is killing it with workplace comedies - hello, The Office, Parks and Recreation, and 30 Rock - and with Tolan behind it all, this looks to be a great addition to the line-up.
Source: NY Mag

The average actor earns peanuts compared to what the following group of Hollywood hot shots make, though their bloated salaries are not just handouts. Each and every person on the list below got where they are because of dedication to and love of their craft. Sure, luck plays an integral part, but without the drive to succeed they’d all be yesterdays news instead of next years busiest entertainers. Read on to see who you’ll be seeing a lot of in 2011.
*Note: This list is comprehensive, but not necessarily "complete" as there are many working actors in the business who have just as many, if not more, films in production. The individuals were selected because of their status in current pop-culture and the size of the films in which they appear. That is why someone like Ray Wise, who has 10 films in various stages of production, was excluded while others with less were included.*
Seth Rogen
Had I made this list last year, or the year before that, Rogen probably would’ve found himself on it. Since becoming a household name in 2007 with Knocked Up and Superbad (among others), the funny man has had more work than he knows what to do with. He starts 2011 with the eagerly awaited release of his 3D superhero flick The Green Hornet, but his cancer dramedy Live With It could hit the festival circuit around the same time. March will see his long-gestating collaboration with Simon Pegg/Nick Frost Paul hit theaters (in which he voices an adorable alien) followed by the May release of Kung Fu Panda 2. Somewhere in the middle of that will be another dramedy, Take This Waltz, in which he co-stars with Sarah Silverman and Michelle Williams. Add that up and Rogen’s got a very lucrative year ahead of him.
Emma Stone
Stone is poised to become the starlet of tomorrow with a leading role in Sony’s new Spider Man film, but that’s a ways off. Next year will see her build momentum towards that coming blockbuster with four releases, including a role in Relativity Media’s massive untitled ensemble comedy (which may now be titled Movie 43) and a reunion with her Easy A director Will Gluck in the Mila Kunis/Justin Timberlake rom-com Friends With Benefits. However, what I’m looking forward to most is The Help, an adaptation of Kathryn Stockett’s beloved novel in which she plays a leading role and Crazy, Stupid, Love, the new dramedy from I Love You Phillip Morris directors Glenn Ficarra and John Requa in which she plays daughter to Steve Carell. There’s enough quality here to ensure that Stone becomes a major player in her own right in the new decade and I can’t wait to see what she does with all that star power in the coming years.
Steven Spielberg
The king of all media is back in full force next year, bringing no less than seven major motion pictures to global audiences in addition to one eagerly awaited new network TV show (Terra Nova – due May 2011). First up is the D.J. Caruso-helmed sci-fi actioner I Am Number Four followed by J.J. Abrams’ homage to the famed filmmaker’s early work with Super 8 (Spielberg serves as executive producer on both). The huge summer season continues with Transformers: Dark of the Moon and the very buzzy Cowboys &amp; Aliens before he unveils the Shawn Levy-directed robot boxing drama Real Steel. Then, around Christmastime, we’ll get a double dose of his directorial efforts with the WWI epic War Horse and the motion captured franchise starter The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn. That is the mark of a true mogul – releasing a pair of big films just days apart. Small potatoes for Mr. Spielberg, of course.
Johnny Depp
Captain Jack attacks the world of entertainment on all fronts next year as actor, producer and director. He’ll be seen in two films, including the long-delayed The Rum Diary and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, and heard in a third – Gore Verbinski’s animated Rango. He serves as producer on Martin Scorsese’s 3D live action Hugo Cabret and a foreign film called Cool Water (which may or may not end up shooting early next year). Additionally, he should finally release his untitled Keith Richards documentary, which has been in post-production for a long time now. It’s one of the most diverse schedules that anyone in the business can boast next year and I’m very excited to see how it all turns out for EW’s most recent Entertainer of the Decade.
Daniel Craig
Like Ms. Stone’s upcoming slate of films, Craig’s is comprised of higher quality than quantity. After a lengthy absence from the silver screen, the British bad ass releases four big movies from four big directors. He starts his domination of the second half of 2011 with Jon Favreau’s Cowboys and Aliens and segues into Jim Sheridan’s new thriller Dream House. After that, he’ll release back to back December blockbusters with the fore mentioned Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn and the mega-hyped English language adaptation of Stieg Larsson’s The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. All together, Craig is looking at an easy billion-dollar year before he begins work on his third Bond film, due in 2012.
Ryan Kavanaugh
As I was compiling this list I realized that I wasn’t showing enough love to the producers that make filmmaking possible. There are hundreds of financiers and producers out there making movies, but none is quite as prolific today (and tomorrow) as Ryan Kavanaugh. The CEO of Relativity Media puts out a number of titles next year, some of which I’ve already mentioned (including that huge ensemble comedy, Cowboys and Aliens and Rogen’s Live With It). Additionally, he releases Neil Burger’s Limitless (formerly titled The Dark Fields), the James Cameron-produced Sanctum, Steven Soderbergh’s Haywire and Tarsem Singh’s Immortals. He’ll also be active in the realm of production as his company gears up for principle photography on The Town That Dreaded Sundown and The Crow remake. Like most big companies, Relativity could easily acquire a number of films for distribution throughout the year, which would just add to its already stellar slate in 2011.
Channing Tatum
The “It” Boy of the new decade is ready to take Hollywood by storm (again) next year. He’ll first appear in Ron Howard’s relationship comedy The Dilemma on January 14th before hitting Sundance in his third collaboration with director Dito Montiel with Son of No One. In February, his long delayed swords-and-sandals actioner The Eagle opens, while April will see Haywire finally blast its way into theaters. Tatum will only take very short breaks to promote these films as he’ll be working on a variety of projects including the ensemble drama Ten Year, the period espionage thriller Love and Honor and Sony’s 21 Jump Street reboot, ensuring that his It Boy status will remain intact for many years to come.
David Koechner
Here’s a guy that you wouldn’t think would end up on a list like this, but Koechner’s comedic abilities have made him a must have for productions big and small. The major studio’s called upon him for films like Paul, Final Destination 5 and This Means War (all set to bow in 2011) in addition to indies like Wish Wizard, Wedding Day and Fully Loaded, in which he apparently plays himself. It’s a big moment for the comedian, so I hope he and his fans drink it in.
Ron Perlman
The Sons Of Anarchy star gets his big-screen due next year with a whopping six (possibly seven) releases. He invades the first frame of 2011 with Season of the Witch and will play father to the Barbarian in Lionsgate’s Conan reboot in August. A number of other independent and studio releases will drop throughout the year as well, including Nicolas Winding Refn’s Drive, the dramatic thriller Crave and a film called Frankie Goes Boom that will reunite him with his SoA co-star Charlie Hunnam (Chris Noth, Lizzy Caplan and Whitney Cummings co-star). Perlman also joins Universal’s Mummy/Scorpion King franchise with the direct to DVD Scorpion King: Rise of the Dead. If it begins production on time, he could also release the action thriller The Riot, which presents a practical take on the survival horror genre. Factor in the tentative summer start of his old friend Guillermo del Toro’s At the Mountains of Madness (in which he plays Larson) and Perlman, at 60, is busier than ever.
Nicolas Cage
In between financial and psychological meltdowns Nicolas Cage manages to get some work done. The Oscar winning A-lister will appear in a quartet of films next year, starting with Season of the Witch and continuing on with Roger Donaldson’s The Hungry Rabbit Jumps, Patrick Lussier’s Drive Angry 3D and Joel Schumacher’s Trespass. In addition, he produced the family comedy A Thousand Words, which was developed as a starring vehicle but was passed off to Eddie Murphy shortly before production began in 2008. He’ll continue to shoot his Ghost Rider sequel through the first quarter of 2011 and may end up filming a third National Treasure at some point as well.
Michael Fassbender
He’s made a name for himself in films like 300 and Inglourious Basterds but Fassbender has yet to really breakout. Next year, he should do just that with four films locked and a handful of others gearing up for production. First is Cary Fukunaga’s adaptation of Charlotte Bronte’s literary staple Jane Eyre followed soon after by Steven Soderbergh’s Haywire. On June 3rd, he joins the X-Men franchise as a young Erik Lensherr/Magneto in X-Men: First Class, which could turn into a career-within-a-career in itself. Additionally, David Cronenberg’s highly anticipated A Dangerous Method should hit the festival circuit at some point in 2011, possibly leading to awards buzz. If you don’t think that is enough of a schedule to balance, try to figure out when/how he’ll shoot two new dramas (Brendan Gleeson’s At Swim-Two-Birds and Steve McQueen’s Shame) amidst all that promotional work? Staggering, isn’t it.

The God of Legion secular Hollywood’s latest Biblically-inspired action flick is old-school an angry spiteful Almighty with a penchant for Old Testament theatrics. Fed up with humanity’s decadent warmongering ways He’s decided to pull the plug on the whole crazy experiment and start over from scratch.
Fortunately for us the God of Legion is also a rather lazy fellow. Instead of doing the apocalyptic work himself and wiping us out with a giant flood which worked perfectly well last time He opts to delegate the task to His army of angels — a questionable strategy that starts to fall apart when the archangel charged with leading the planned extermination Michael (Paul Bettany) refuses to comply.
Michael who unlike his boss still harbors affection for our sorry species abandons his post and descends to earth where inside the swollen belly of Charlie (Adrianne Palicki) an unwed mother-to-be working as a waitress in an out-of-the-way diner sits humanity’s lone hope for survival. Why is this particular baby so important? Is it the one destined to lead us to victory over Skynet? Heaven knows — Legion reveals little details its script devoid of actual scripture. What is clear is that God’s celestial hitmen want the kid whacked before it’s born.
But Michael won’t let humanity fall without a fight. Armed with a Waco-sized arsenal of assault weapons he hunkers down with the diner’s patrons a largely superfluous collection of thinly-sketched caricatures from various demographic groups led by Dennis Quaid as the diner’s grizzled owner Tyrese Gibson as a hip-hop hustler and Lucas Black as a simple-minded country boy.
Together they mount a heroic final stand against hordes of angels who’ve taken possession of “weak-willed” humans turning kindly old grandmas and mild-mannered ice cream vendors into snarling ravenous foul-mouthed beasts. They descend upon the ramshackle diner in a series of full-frontal assaults commanded by the archangel Gabriel (Kevin Durand) the George Pickett of End of Days generals.
Beneath its superficial religious facade Legion is really just a run-of-the-mill zombie flick a Biblical I Am Legend. Bettany an actor accustomed to smaller dramatic roles in films like A Beautiful Mind and The Da Vinci Code looks perfectly at ease in his first major action role wielding machine guns and bowie knives with equal aplomb. Conversely first-time director Scott Stewart a former visual effects artist does little to prove himself worthy of such a promotion serving up some impressive CGI work but not much else worthy of note.

Bobby Garfield (David Morse) returns to his small hometown to attend the funeral of his childhood friend and remembers the fateful summer in 1960 when his whole world changed. The story flashes back to when 11-year-old Bobby (Anton Yelchin) and his best friends Carol (Mika Boorem) and Sully-John (Will Rothhaar) capture the pure joy of youthfulness. When a mysterious stranger named Ted Brautigan (Anthony Hopkins) moves upstairs and starts to pay attention to Bobby the boy suddenly realizes what's truly missing from his life--the love of a parent. Bobby's mother Liz (Hope Davis) is embittered by the death of Bobby's father and shows little compassion for her son's growing needs. Ted fills a void with the boy opening his eyes to the world around him and helps Bobby come to terms with his real feelings for Carol--and his mother. But Ted also has some deep dark secrets of his own and Bobby tries hard to stop danger from reaching the old man.
The performances make the film especially in the genuine camaraderie of the kids. Yelchin Boorem and Rothhaar never deliver a false move with an easiness that makes us believe we are simply watching three 11-year-old children grow up together. Yelchin in particular is able to get right to the heart of this young boy who misses his father and clings to the only adult who will listen. And his scenes with Boorem simply break your heart. (Davis) does an admirable job playing a part none too sympathetic. She manages to show a woman whose been beaten down but who does truly love her son in her own way. Morse too is one of those character actors you can plug in any movie and get a performance worth noting. In Hearts you want to see more of him. Of course the film shines brightest when Hopkins is on the screen. It may not be an Oscar-caliber performance but the actor is unparalleled in bringing a character to life--showing the subtleties of an old man looking for some peace in his life.
If you are expecting the Stephen King novel you may be disappointed. Screenwriter William Goldman and director Scott Hicks (Shine) deftly extracted the King formula of telling a story through a child's eye and explaining how the relationships formed as a child shaped the adult later. Hicks did an amazing job with his young actors especially Yelchin and Boorem. But where the novel continued into a supernatural theme explaining Brautigan's fear of being captured by "low men in yellow coats" (a reference to King's The Dark Tower series) the movie downplayed the mystical elements instead giving real explanations for Brautigan's man-on-the-run. That was the one problem with Hearts--we needed more danger. Introducing men from another dimension may not have been the way to go but had there been more tension the film would have resonated more especially when Bobby risked his own safety to save Ted.